George ramsdell



(No Model.)

G. RAMSDELL. APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOD AND OIL GAS.

No. 442,493. Patented Dec. 9,1890.

/N VENTOR W/TNESSES:

A TTOHNEYS UNTTE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE RAMSDELL, OF NE\V YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOD-AND-OIL GAS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 442,493, dated December 9, 1890.

Application filed April 21, 1890. $eria1 No. 348,810. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, GEORGE RAMSDELL, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Apparatus for the Manufacture of \Vood-and-Oil Gas, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for the manufacture of wood-andoil gas; and the object of the improvements herein set forth is to provide means particu larly fitted to answer the various practical requirements for the manufacture of wood and-oil gas.

The particular obj eet of the invention may be cited as providing a bottom for the 0il-retorts of a non-combustible and non-porous material to effectually prevent the retort, which is ordinarily constructed of clay, from absorbing the oil, thereby causing rapid decay and leakage of the retort, and the said auxiliary bottom also materially assists in an economic and rapid vaporization of the oil.

Another important feature of the invention is to so construct the oil-feed pipes leading into the retort-s that the said pipes will not become choked by the deposition of carbon, and wherein the oil-vapors are released before the hottest portion of the retorts is reached, and that portion of the oil. not vaporized conducted to the hottest surface of the retorts-mamely, to the rear.

Certain features of construction employed in my complete apparatus and covered by patents previously granted to me (one of which is numbered 25,516 and dated September 27, 1881) are shown, herein in order to represent the inventions in the manner in which I shall use them. Theseimprovements heretofore mentioned in preceding patents relate, first, to the method of generating the wood-gas and treating the same before llllX- ing it with the oil-vapor; second, to the manner of controlling the introduction of the wood-gas and oil vapor into the mixing-chamber prior to their joint passage into the superheater, and, third, to the manner of feeding the oil-retorts by atmospheric pressure; and in said patents, in order to change the carbonic acid in the wood-retorts into carbonic oxide, and thereby increase the illuminating properties of the gas, the latter is passed through a bed of charcoal located in the lower portion of the appropriate retort. The gas is made to pass through the month-piece of each retort by pipes leading from the compartmentsof the retorts, the respective pipes of the different retorts being connected with valved devices adapted to permit communication with any one or more closed retort.

The invention consists in the novel construction andcombination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and poin t ed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a bench of retorl's provided with the several improvements. Fig. '2 is a longitudinal vertical section through the oil-retort and also through the oil and vapor feed pipe located in the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4: is a perspective view of the auxiliary bottom of the oil-retort detached therefrom.

Two wood-retorts 10 and ll are located in the same horizontal line, one of them below each oil-retort 12 and 13. A pipe extends from the inner side of the mouth-piece of each wood-retort 10 and 11 in an inclined upper direction, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The said wood-retorts have their pipes 1t and 15 connected with a valved chamber 16, the latter being provided with a rotary valve adapted to close one or both of these pipes from comin unication with its chamber. This valve may also close the com in unieation of its chamber with the vertical pipe 17, leading from its top to the bottom of the mixing-chamber 18. The pipe 19, which leads from the left-hand oil-retort 12, connects with the mixing-chamber on one side of its lower portion, and the pipe 20, which leads from the right-hand retort 13, connects with the said mixing-chamber on the other side of its lower portion. The inclination of the pipes 19 and 20 correspond with the inclination of the lower pipes 14 and 15.

A vertical pipe 21 leads from the top of the mixing-chamber 18 to the bottom of the mouthpiece of the superheating retort 'lhe mixing-chamber 18 is fitted with a valve adapted to close any one, two, or all of the pipes which lead into the mixing-chamber, or to close the pipe which leads therefrom to the superheating-retort. The several pipes which lead from their respective retorts are arranged at the sharp angle or inclination indicated, in order to prevent the deposition of carbonaceous matter therein.

The valve devices are adapted to permitany one or a number of the different. generating-retorts to be shut off from the others, so that any retort may be individually charged or otherwise attended to independently of the other retorts.

In-the event that-the superheating-retort requiresattention it may be closed off from the mixing-chamber, the oil-vapor and the woodgas being passed through their" respective stand-pipes 23. The latter and the central stand-pipe 24 of the superheating-retort are provided with dip-pipes formed at acute angles therewith and extending rearwardly downward, so that all tendency to the deposit of-carbon in the dip-pipes may be avoided.

The dip-pipes are connected directly with the hydraulic main 25, the dip-pipes of the stand-pipes 23 being made to extend within the hydraulic main a greaterdistance than the dip-pipes of the central stand-pipe 24;. The heavier sealing of the dip-pipes of the retort stand-pipes prevents the wood-gas and oil-vapors from being passed through them into the hydraulic main, while the valve apparatus heretofore referred to does not positively cut any of them off and is in normal operation; but when from any cause the gas or vapor cannot pass in regular order through the superheating-retort it can find exit from the retort by passing through the heavy sealed dip-pipes directly into the hydraulic main.

The oil-retorts 12 and 13 are each provided with an auxiliary bottom 26, which bottom is preferably of a width at its under surface corresponding to the width of the main bottom of the retort, and at each side and the inner end the auxiliary bottom is provided with an upwardly-extending flange 27, located near the edges, as best shown in Fig. 4, and the space intervening the side walls of the retort and the contiguous sides of the flanges 27 is ordinarily filled in with a packing 28 of fireclay or its equivalent, as is best illustrated in Fig. The auxiliary bottom 26 is prefer-a bly made of metal; but any other non-porous material capable of withstanding high degrees of heat may be substituted, if in practice it is found desirable.

Retorts are ordinarily constructed of clay, and when the retorts are adapted for the vaporization of oil the oil is to a great extent absorbed by the bottom of the retort, with which it comes in contact, and the retort at that point shortly becomes sosaturated as to leak and be rendered unfit for use. The object of providing the auxiliary bottom is to protect the main bottom of the retort and not permit the oil to come in contact therewith, thus providing also for a more rapid vaporization of the oil and decided economy inthe use of the latter.

In each oil-retort a feed-pipe 29 is located, preferably longitudinally of its central portion, the said pipe being closed at its outer end and of a sufficient length to extend from a point at or near the mouth of the retort to a point preferably at the rear of its center, and the rear portion of the feed-pipe 29 is cutaway at the top, so that the interior of the said pipe at this point is exposed, and the said pipe is semicircular in cross-section, as illustrated at 30 in Figs. 2 and 3. Oil is supplied to the feed-pipes 29 of the oil-retorts at or near the forward end of said pipes by vertical valved tubes 31, receiving their supply froma fount in a manner to be hereinafter described.

At this point it may be well to state that by providing the supply-pipe, substantially as described, for each oil-retort the vapors generated find a speedy exit from the pipe before said vapors are carried over the hottest portion of the retortnamely, the rearand by permitting this speedy escape of the vapors the supply pipes do not become clogged by the deposition of' carbonaceous matter therein, and the uncovered rear portion of the supply-pipe sections conduct the unvaporized oil directly to thehottest portion of the retort, thereby assuring its rapid and successful vaporization.

It will be observed that by reason of the two important improvements herein mentioned-namely, the auxiliary bottom of the retort and its peculiar oil-supply pipenot only is there a decided economy in theuse of oil obtained, but the vaporization of the oil is materially expedited.

To supply the oil-retortswith their charge, a series of. oil-tanks 32 is provided seated upon a properly-constructed stand-33, as illustrated in Fig. 1. Each oil-tank has a pipe 34 leading into its bottom from an oil-pump 35, and the supply-pipes 31 are connected by a line of pipe 36 with the said pipes 34 of the oil-tanks. The pipes 34 are provided with suitable valves, so as to retain in the tanks the oil forced therein. From the lower side portion of each tank there is led a pipe 37, and the several pipes 37 are connected with a singlestand-pipe 38, which pipe is carried over the bench and down into one of the oil retorts near the rear portion of the same. Vhen two oil-retorts are employed, two standpipes 38 are used. The stand-pipe 38 is a delivery-pipe, and may be termed an alternative device, as it is not employed to supply oil to the retorts when the supply-pipes 31 are in proper working order; but should anything happen to the latter pipes the stand or supply pipes 38 maybe brought into requisition.

ITO

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. 'lhecombination,with theretort,ofahorizontal pipe 29, extending along its bottom toward its rear end, the forward end of the pipe being closed and the upper portion of its inner end being removed to form the trough 30, and a pipe 31, discharging into the closed end of the said pipe, substantially as set forth.

2. The combinatiomwith the retort having a bottom 26, formed of a non-porous heatconducting material, having a flange 27 along its sides and rear end, of a .horizontal pipe 29, extending along the bottom across its flangeless end, the forward end of the pipe being closed and the upper portion of its inner end being removed to form a trough SO, and a pipe 31, discharging into the closed end of the pipe, substantially as described.

u. The combination, with the retort having a flat bottom and a mixing-chamber at its front end. and a supplemental flat bottom 26, having a flange 27 on its upper side adjacent to its longitudinal and rear end edges, the front end being fiangeless and terminating at that edge of the retort, and the packing 28, of the horizontal pipe 29, extending from the mixing-chamber across the fiangeless end of the bottom 26 and resting evenly upon the upper side of said bottom, the rear portion of the pipe having its upper half cut away to form the trough 30, and the pipe 3 l, entering the front closed end of the pipe 29, substantially as set forth.

GEORGE RAMSDELL.

\Vitnesses:

J. F. AcKEn, EDGAR TATE. 

